Drying rack



April 9, 1929. R. v. PROCTOR DRYING RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 10, 1926 1 P I//I I 1111K; 5 NM M WW q, w I.IIIV.. 7 a 8 I 0 I .2. 4.54 m

.April 9, 1929. v, PROCTOR 1,708,588

DRYING RACK Filed Nov. 10, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 RM Q2132 1 upon the 0t Patentdd- Apr. 9,1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. BOBERT'V. PROCTOR, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNOB TO THE COMMERCIAL SHEAR- ING;L& STLHPIN G COMPANY OI YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, A. OOBPOIRA'JJIOH' OI OHIO.

' DRYING 3am Application filed November This inventionv relates to dryin and particularly to a rack for holdln lets on which ceramic ware is placed in green state and kiln dried.

racks, palthe When ceramic ware is molded, itis placed be on pallets which are preferably made of light metal and these pallets are stacked so as to utilize space in the most efiicient manner. Some pallets are arranged to stack one er, but in man cases it is impossible to do this, and rac s are emplo ed for holding the pallets one above the ot er in spaced relationship.

The green ware is very easily broken, and it is therefore important that the pallets be uniformly supported. and not subjected to twist.

The drying racks heretofore constructed have been open to the objection that if they are placed upon an irregular floor or if, due to inaccuracies in construction, theyare not engaged by the lift truck in the exact manner; intended, the racks themselves have bei come twisted. This twisting has been in turn transferred to the pallets with a consequent brealia 'e of the ware.

I have found that this difiiculty may be overcome by providin a drying rack having a pair 0 upstan ing legs with pallet holding means on the legs, and a hollow girder rigidly connected to the legs and spacmg the same apart. This 'rder is conveniently made of-two channe s placed face to face and welded together along the ed es Preferably the hollow girders are space a distance above the floor and are adaptedfor engagement by a lift truck. In some cases, .it may be desirable to provide a diagonal brace in a generall horizontal plane.

In many cases it is desirable to utilize longitudinal as well as transverse hollow girders. The longitudinal girders are to prevent twisting when the rack runs over on an uneven floor. The longitudinal girders are 5 not necessarily in the same plane as the transverse girders, idly attached.

It is very desirable to weld all of the parts together in a rack of this character. The

parts are'necessarily made of relatively light gage metal and if rivets are employed there '1s not suflicient resistance in the metal surrounding the rivet to hold under heavy loads. As a result, the rivetholes become enlarged but they should be rig- 10, 1920. Serial no. 147,588.

and the entire rack loosens up. I preferably weld all of the parts together as this is found 1n actual practise to produce a rack which -w1ll stand up over periods of time without coming loose.

In the accompanyin illustrate a preferred em vention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a drymg rack showmg several pallets in place;

lgure 2 1s a horizontal section through a modlfied form of rack, said section being taken in a lane above the hollow girders;

F1 re 3 1s a partial section taken on the line IIIII of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view corresponding to a portlon of Figure 2, but showing a modified form of upstanding legs;

Figure 5 is a s1de elevation of a wall rack employ ng hollow longitudinal girders;

Flgure 6 is a section taken on the line VI VI of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a detail view showing a part of the construction of the rack illustrated in Figures 5 and 6;

Figure 8 is a section taken on the line VIII-VIII of Figure 6; and

Figure 9 is a section taken on the line IX-IX of Figure 8.

Referring first to Figure 1, there is shown a drying rack comprising four upstanding legs 2 arranged in, opposed pairs. The legs are channel shaped, and each pair is placed with the backs of the channels opposing one another. l

The pairs of legs are connected by hollow girders 3 which are made of two channels placed face to face and welded along the Edges, as indicated at 4 in Figure 2. It will e ures 2 and 3 differs from that in Fi re 1 only in the inclusion of a diagonal lfrace, hereinafter described. The hollow girders are connected to the upstandin set plates 5 which providela rigid connection. Each leg is provided with a foot 6 to give ample bearing surface.

Each pair of legs with its connecting holdrawings which odiment of the inunderstood that'the rack shown in Fig-- legs by guslow girder forms a generally U shaped frame These trucks have supporting faces which are adapted for vertical movement so as to elevate from the ground racks or similar structures under which they are placed.

The U-shaped frames are connected by channels 7 securely fastened to the upstanding legs 2, as by spot welding. Flanges 8 of the channels provide bearing supports for pallets 9. The ends of the flanges 8 are chamfered off as indicated at 10 so as to eliminate sharp corners.

The above described to be very desirable in practice and capable of maintaining its original shape without twisting, even though it is irregularly supported. As an additional precaution a inst twisting, it may be desirable to provide a diagonal brace such as shown at 11 in Figure 2. This brace preferably lies in the general plane of girders 3 so as to provide an unobstructed pallet receiving space. The brace comprises a pair of hollow girders arranged in the form of an X.

Figure 4 shows a portion of a drying rack very similar to that of Figure 1, except that the upstanding legs 2 instead of being channels, are made in the form of hollow tubes 12. These hollow tubes may be made in one piece by any desired manufacturing process, or they may be made by welding two channels together in the same way as the hollow grlders 3 are made. Conversely, the hollow girders 3 may be made of a one-piece tube, if desired.

In Figures to 9, inclusive, there is shown a wheeled rack. It comprises upstanding channels 20 carrying pallet receiving channels 21.

The channels 21 are similar to the channels in Figures 1 and 2. They are welded to the upstanding legs 20.

The channels at either rack are connected to cross members 22 and 23. The cross member 22 is channel-like in cross-section,

while the cross member 23 is in the form of a structural Z. Gusset plates 24 are provided at the joints. and the top flanges of the members 22 and 23 are connected by a plate 25. All of the parts are welded together.

The two ends of the rack are connected by longitudinal girders 26 which are tubular in form, as shown in Figure 9. Gusset plates 27 are employed at each corner for connecting the tubular member 26 to the end framing of the rack. Welding is also employed for joining these parts. I

The entire rack is mounted on casters 28. Figure 8 most clearly shows the hollow cross girder in the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 5 to 9. inclusive. This section is taken on the line VIII-VIII at the junction of two of the gusset plates 24,

but the adjoining edges of such plates are welded together so that, in effect, they form a single piece of metal. Since the plate extends all the way across the rack, the combination of the channel 22, Z 23 and plates 25 rack has been found of said girdersand rigidly and permanently and 27 forms a hollow cross girder serving the same purpose as the hollow cross glrder in the embodiment of Figures-1 to 4, inclusive. It will be noted from Figure 1 that the gusset plates 5 are shown as spot-welded. Experience shows that rivets are not suflicient to hold the parts rigidly over a continued period of time.

I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention and certain modifications thereof, but it will be understood that the invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims. v I claim:

1. A drying rack comprising upstanding legs, the legs at one side of the rack being unconnected at the top to the legs at the other side of the rack, pallet holding means on the legs, and a hollow girder rigidly connected to the legs and spacing the same apart, the hollow girder being remote from the top of the rack, and the joints being welded.

2. A drying rack for ceramic articles comprising a hollow girder, a pair of spaced legs rigidly and permanently secured to the girder and upstanding therefrom to form an open 1150p frame, and pallet holding means on the egs. v

3. A drying rack for ceramic articles comprising a hollow girder, a pair of spaced legs rigidly and permanently secured to the girder and upstanding therefrom to form an opentop frame, and pallet holding means on the legs, the legs extending downwardly from the girder a sufiicient distance to permit of placing a lift truck beneath the girder.

4. A drying rack for ceramic articles comprising hollow girders, a pair of spaced legs associated with each of said girders and rigidly and permanently secured thereto and upstanding therefrom to form a plurality of spaced open topped frames, and pallet holding means connected to the legs.

5. A drying rack comprising hollow girders, a pair of spaced legs associated with each of said girders and rigidly secured thereto and upstanding therefrom to form a plurality of spaced open topped frames, pallet holding means connected to the legs, and a diagonal brace lying in the general plane of the hollow girders. 6. A drying rack comprising hollow girders, a pair f spaced legs associated with each secured thereto and upstanding therefrom to form a plurality of spaced open topped frames, and pallet holding means connected to the legs, the pallet holding means acting as the sole means for spacing the frames apart.

7. A drying rack for ceramic articles comprising a hollow girder, a pair of upstanding legs, each end of the girder abutting a side of one of sa1d legs and being rigidly and per- 9 with a pair of upstanding legs, each end of each girder abutting a side of one of said legs and being rigidly secured thcrto so as to form a pair of rigid open topped frames, and

pallet holding means extending from one frame to another and rigidly connected to the upstanding legs so as to space the frames apart.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ROBERT v. PROCTOR. 

